Publication date: 14.11.2023
A hospital that the whole world helped to build. In Uzhhorod, displaced persons and military personnel receive free treatment at a new clinic. It all started with a small medical office and the enthusiasm of local doctors. Our correspondents will tell you about the journey from treatment in a corridor to a modern clinic.
Pavlo Kolesnyk — family doctor:
This is our reception area, restroom, new room, family doctor’s office, another family doctor’s office. Now, at this time of total destruction of cities and houses, which people spent so much time building, we need to create something.
In this video from last year, Pavlo Kolesnyk, a doctor from Uzhhorod, shows an empty room in a new building. He planned to set up a volunteer clinic here. A little over a year has passed. Everything he had in mind has come to fruition.
When full-scale war broke out, doctors in Uzhhorod rallied together. They volunteered at the train station, in dormitories, and at the Owl’s Nest hub. Later, they moved to a small office and continued to treat refugees from different parts of Ukraine free of charge. Pavlo also developed a clinic project and sent it to philanthropists abroad.
Pavlo Kolesnyk — family doctor:
A year ago, these were bare walls with nothing inside. We managed to acquire this place with the help of donations from our European sponsors, family medicine teachers, and our friends who are doctors in the United States. Most importantly, we have a team of specialists and like-minded people who rallied around the idea when there was nothing.
Funds were collected from all over the world. Dr. Mark from Corvallis, Oregon, was one of those who responded.
Dr. Mark Rampton is a family physician from Corvallis, Oregon:
We also wanted to help. Pavlo and his team worked literally in the hallway, then in another room, and we helped with medicines. And when we decided to set up this clinic, we decided to help.
Currently, more than forty people work at the clinic. Victoria has been part of the team of volunteer doctors since the beginning of the invasion. Back then, she would visit dormitories with a first aid kit; now she is a family doctor.
Victoria Retzin — family doctor:
It’s the first day of the war, and you go because there’s a cough. I worked as a volunteer for a year, and later officially as a doctor here.
Some of the equipment was also purchased by charitable donors. They also provide free medicines to displaced persons.
Iryna is an internally displaced person from Berdiansk:
I am from Berdyansk, Zaporizhia region, which is occupied territory, and ended up in Uzhhorod, Zakarpattia. In two weeks, they almost got me back on my feet. It’s accumulated stress.
In addition to displaced persons, military personnel are also treated here free of charge. Various free training courses are also held for medical professionals. Volunteer medics prove by their example that nothing is impossible in this world. They also believe that Ukraine’s victory is near.
Supported by the ShowUp4Health project
